How to Hand Sew: Applique Stitch/Fell Stitch

The Applique Stitch, sometimes referred to as the Fell Stitch, is a great, easy stitch for attaching a piece of fabric to another surface of fabric. Here's the breakdown of how to do it.

Step One:

Starting from the back of the fabric, stick your needle through both layers and pull your thread all the way through.

Step Two:

Then, stick the needle through once more, this time above the top layer so that you are only going through the back layer of fabric. Usually, you want to go as close to the edge of the top layer of fabric as possible. But since this is typically a stitch used for looks, you do whatever you want.

Step Three:

Pull your thread tight all the way through and start over again by coming up through both layers of fabric from the back.

After you've got a few stitches in, this is what your fabric and stitches will look like (somewhat) from the back of the fabric.

Happy appliqueing!

Here is a link back to the hand sewing directory if you'd like to read more: How To Hand Sew